Rise From the Humble

Since there were not many things, Zhu Ping'an quickly packed up his things. It was still early, so he sat at the table and practiced calligraphy while writing "The Story of Yitian Tuhui". He would need it when he went home to borrow books.

Zhu Pingquan practiced calligraphy and continued writing until noon before he stopped writing. Looking out the window, it started to snow again, and it was pure white.

Perhaps he was aroused by the snowflakes outside the window, or maybe he was in a leisurely mood after winning the election. Zhu Pingan packed up his pen, ink, paper and inkstone, put on his rabbit fur coat, and prepared to go downstairs to take a stroll around the city of Nanjing after the snow. , take the opportunity to have lunch.

Many students in the lobby gathered around Zhu Shiming, who had just passed the exam, and arranged two tables. The tables were filled with big fish and meat. There were two stoves next to them, warming two pots of wine with an intoxicating aroma.

"Brother Zhu Xian, come and have a drink with us." Zhu Shiming saw Zhu Ping'an coming downstairs from a distance, stood up and invited.

"Two people at one table will be a good story in the future." Others also stood up and invited Zhu Pingan to the table. After the incident of catching his son-in-law under the list in the morning, these people were more in awe of Zhu Pingan.

The person who is favored by all the officials of the third rank is not Yi Yi.

Zhu Ping'an thanked them for their kindness and declined to say that he had something to do. He left the inn and wandered around Yingtian City aimlessly. I have been busy with the imperial examinations and have not taken a close look at this ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, which was full of glamor and wealth. Today I want to take a closer look while I have time.

The street outside is already a world covered in snow. It is snowing in the sky. The restaurants and tea shops on both sides of the street are doing extremely busy business. You can smell the aroma of vegetables and wine while walking on the street. From time to time, you can see wealthy people. People gather around a table of gourmet food and wine, and even a restaurant with a larger scale can see dancing singers

After walking along the bank of the Qinhuai River for a while. Zhu Pingan turned around and walked along another street that he had never walked before.

The bustle of this street is not much inferior to that of the two sides of the Qinhuai River. It seems to be more than that. The control of this street is looser than that of the Qinhuai Confucian Temple, which is a politically concentrated area. Vendors are also more active, and there are also many children chasing and playing in the street, which is full of life.

In the noisy and hot restaurant, Zhu Ping'an also bought a set of pot stickers wrapped in thick paper, and enjoyed the snowy scenery of Yingtian while eating.

Crispy skin, beautiful filling, fragrant and juicy.

On a snowy day, eating hot pot stickers is extra delicious.

Zigu~ tons

While Zhu Pingan was eating and shopping, he heard an unusually striking sound of swallowing saliva.

Zhu Pingan paused. Looking around, I saw two five- or six-year-old children leaning against the wall at the alleyway connecting this street, looking at me timidly, fearful and eager. They were still wearing tattered shoes with open toes on a snowy day, and they seemed to be very young. It didn't fit her feet well, and her wrinkled clothes were still patched.

The two children couldn't tell the difference between male and female. They were thin, but had big eyes. Staring straight at the pot sticker in his hand.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Pingan was a little shocked.

Since he arrived in the Ming Dynasty, even though he was poor in a mountain village, his household was able to get by. Reading and scientific research. So much so that I forgot the existence of these dark sides,

"Come, brother, I'll treat you to something." Zhu Pingan squatted down. He handed the pot stickers in his hand to the two children.

The two children looked at each other, afraid to move.

"Brother is not a bad person. Come on, take it." Zhu Pingan smiled gently. Once again, he handed the wrapped potstickers to one of the older-looking children.

In the end, the two children still couldn't hold back the hot pot stickers. The older child timidly reached out and took it. When he saw that Zhu Pingan really gave it to him, his big eyes lit up.

"Eat for mother."

After the two children took the pot stickers from Zhu Pingan, they just swallowed a few more mouthfuls of saliva, and then they confirmed the ownership of the pot stickers without any dispute with expressions of joy on their faces.

"Brother, come to my house to drink water."

Because of a pot sticker, the two children completely classified Zhu Pingan as a good person. They were so happy that they even invited Zhu Pingan to their home for a drink. The two children's eyes flashed with anticipation, as if they were afraid that Zhu Pingan would refuse.

I followed the two children into the alley. It was a deep alley, as if they connected two worlds.

The alley was strange and winding, and the two children finally led Zhu Ping'an into another alley. There was a mottled signboard hanging at the entrance of the alley with the words "Yangjiyuan" written on it. Inside the alley is a large area of ​​simple houses, which are low and narrow. It is not clear whether they can be protected from wind and snow. The alleys are also dirty and messy.

The two children led Zhu Ping'an into one of the narrow and cramped courtyards. There was a thin and sick woman washing clothes in the courtyard. Her body was covered with wind and snow, and her fingers were cracked by the frost and were red and swollen. .

"Dawuwu is back, cough, cough, cough. When mother finishes washing these clothes, I will boil water for you to drink. When your father comes back in the evening, you will have food."

The woman's voice was weak, as if she was seriously ill.

"Mom, let's eat for you." The freshman child took out the pot stickers wrapped in his hand and handed it to the woman who was washing clothes like a treasure.

"Dawu, you, you stole other people's things?! Cough cough cough." The woman was not happy and became angry when she saw this, and she kept coughing angrily.

"I don't have a mother, it's this big brother who gave me this." The child felt aggrieved.

Then, the woman saw Zhu Ping'an walking into the yard. She took the two children into her arms with some caution, took the pot stickers from the freshman child's hand, put them on a wooden board on one side, and then pulled the two children. A child hid in the house.

"Master, please come back with your things. My man is not here, and my family will not sell our children or anything."

The woman's sickly voice came from the room.

"Mom, eldest brother is not a bad person." The two children also said it, and then the woman stopped them.

Zhu Ping'an looked at himself, and then realized that men and women were on guard.

After looking at the closed door, Zhu Pingan knew that it was better for him to leave obediently at this moment. Any more words would be wrong, and staying for one more minute would also be wrong.

After thinking about it, Zhu Pingan took out all the money he had with him, placed it next to the pot stickers, bowed his hands slightly, said a word, and left.

"excuse me."

After Zhu Ping'an said this, he left the courtyard and continued walking along the alley.

In this alley, Zhu Ping'an witnessed with his own eyes the many holes under the bright appearance of the Ming Empire.

While the rich wine and meat smell, the road with frozen bone!

For some people, the heavy snowfall in Yingtian brings not beauty but disaster. While wealthy families, officials, and even themselves were feasting and having fun while admiring the snow, poor people were dying of cold and hunger on the streets. Some of them didn't even have money for medical treatment. It was really chilling.

Chatting with an old man with white hair and beard in the alley, Zhu Pingan understood why these people ended up in this situation in the Ming Dynasty where taxes were extremely low: they had no land, why didn’t they have land? Because of land annexation and excessive taxes and corvee, the Ming Dynasty Agricultural taxes are very low but corvées are heavy; no matter what the reason, they lost their land. A farmer without land has no income, and he still has to eat without income. So he started selling off his property, etc., and then he became a refugee. When you can't satisfy your hunger by eating bark, leaves, etc., you have to sell your wife and children.

In this extremely cold winter, they lived a very hard life. They had little food, no warmth, no money to pay for medical care.

Zhu Ping'an, a newly promoted young man in the Ming Dynasty, walked heavily in this alleyway, watching the hungry and dying refugees struggling to survive in this alleyway, and looking at their begging and helpless eyes.

Drinking and admiring the snow on the banks of the Qinhuai River, while suffering from cold and hunger in the alley, a certain young man walked out of the alley with heavy steps and a firm gaze.